


Scurvy Grass and Sneezewort

by slayerette



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Cordelia Chase is a chaser ok, F/F, Female-Centric, Femslash, Fluff, Get it?, I'm very sorry, POV Female Character, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-02-03 22:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1758265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slayerette/pseuds/slayerette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shut up, Fred.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer the question I'm sure every single one of you has been dying to ask: no, I don't own Buffy.  
> Disclaimer aside, I do hope you manage to enjoy reading this. If you've got any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Willow is smart. Brilliant, actually. Top of her year. It's kind of her thing.

Usually. 

It's just that every now and then, she isn't all that smart. There are some days when she forgets that she's meant to be brilliant. There are some days when she babbles and mispronounces incantations and adds scurvy grass to the cauldron when the recipe _clearly_ calls for sneezewort.

Her roommate, Fred Burkle, points out that these days only seem to come about when they share classes with the Hufflepuffs. Which is completely irrelevant and purely coincidental. 

It obviously has nothing to do with the Hufflepuff girl, the one who sits just behind Willow and Fred in Potions, and right across from them in Charms. The one with the honey brown hair and the pretty blue eyes and the shy, crooked smile. That would be absurd. 

 

* * *

 

The Hufflepuff girl, the one who has absolutely nothing to do with Willow's spontaneous lapses into foolishness, asks if she can borrow a quill.

Willow digs one out of her bag and hands it to her. She tries to start up a conversation, and she almost succeeds. Almost. Not that there's any real way of knowing for sure, but Willow calculates a  seventy percent chance that she's saying something about feathers, and a thirty percent chance that she's just making odd little noises in the back of her throat.

Merlin help her.

It's okay though, because the girl is nodding as though she's said something intelligent.

"I'm Tara."

"That's a pretty name. Willow! I mean, I'm Willow, and Tara is a pretty name. My name is Willow. It's nice to meet you. Hi." 

"Charmed."

It takes Willow a few moments to realize that they're in the Charms Classroom, and Tara's just made a joke. When she does, she laughs longer and louder than is really necessary.

 

* * *

 

She's hurrying down the main stairwell with Fred in the middle of a light discussion concerning the early history of sealing charms, when they pass a crowd of Hufflepuffs on their way to the library.

Tara, who is only like, sort of gorgeous-shut up, Fred- is among them and offers Willow a bashful smile. Willow tries to say hello, but words don't really make it out of her throat, not in an audible sense.

A few minutes later, Fred cheerfully informs her that her red face is clashing terribly with her hair.

Shut up, Fred.

 

* * *

 

"You should ask her out. See if she wants to go to Hogsmeade with you." 

Willow makes a noise quite like one a startled bird might and nearly drops her copy of  _Advanced Rune Translation._

"W-what? What are you even talking about Fred? Who? I don't- actually, I'm busy studying, so maybe we can talk about this later, or possibly never, whatever works because-"

"Tara, Tara Maclay." Fred cuts her off, which is a very un-Fred like thing to do. " That Hufflepuff girl you're sweet on."

"I'm not 'sweet on' anyone," Willow states in what she hopes is a coolly unaffected tone. "I honestly can't imagine where you get these mad crazy notions in your head-"

They hear an excited gasp from across the Ravenclaw common room. It's Dawn Summers, a first year, and her grin is far too knowing for Willow's liking. She hops up from her spot by a bookcase to sit beside them.

"Are you talking about Tara Maclay? My sister knows her, I think. Are you in love with her? You are, aren't you?" She clasps her hands together. " I knew it-I mean not really, more like on a subconscious level, but whatever!"

It's the fastest Willow's heard anyone speak since Fred explained her thesis on the metaphysical origins of magic. 

"Dawn, it's half past ten, maybe you should go to be-"

"You guys would be adorable," Willow wishes people would stop interrupting her. "I think you'll get married, probably."

"Well, I mean that's really nice but you know what, Fred actually has a lot of work to do, so-"

"Not really." Fred's got stars in her eyes. The traitor.

Ah well, time for a thrilling escape.

"You guys are insane." Willow informs them quickly, and stands. " I'm going to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

There aren't usually kittens running about in the library. Of this, Willow is almost certain.

She and Fred spent a fair amount of their spare time there, after all. She was bound to have noticed at some point.

So either Willow is an idiot ( her marks suggest otherwise) or the small, black and white kitten playing with her shoelaces isn't supposed to be there. She proceeds to take the only course of action that any self respecting prefect would even consider. She sees no clear alternative.

Willow reaches into her book bag, pulls out a quill pen, and fashions a makeshift cat-toy from it's feather and a piece of string.

 

* * *

 

 "Oh, you found Miss Kitty!"

Willow jolts in surprise. She looks up from her place on the floor to see no one but Tara Maclay.

Tara is frazzled and her hair is messy. Willow thinks she looks beautiful. She hastily hides her cat-toy away in one of her pockets and scrambles to her feet.

"Is she yours? I uh, sorry she was in the library and I didn't-"

"No, I mean, thank you, for looking after her." Tara bends over and scoops up Miss Kitty. " I was super worried, I mean I came back from class and she was just gone, you know?" She pauses to breathe " I've uh, sort of been all over the school."

"You didn't try a locating spell?"

Suddenly, Willow isn't the only one blushing.

"That, er, p-probably would have been a good idea. But thanks, seriously-Willow, right?"

It's now or never. This is happening. She's gonna do it.

She's gonna ask Tara Maclay out to Hogmeade. It's gonna be easy and cool and fantastic. She takes a deep breath.

She sort of accidentally runs away, instead.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Running away from someone in the middle of a conversation is rude. Terribly so. 

Which is why Willow is lying face down on her bed and making distressed whale noises into her pillow. Fred, of course, is smiling because she is the absolute worst. Willow tells her as much. She laughs.

Shut up, Fred.

"Willow, you're gonna need to explain yourself at some point."

Willow disagrees wholeheartedly. She's almost certain that if she really puts her mind to it, she can avoid Tara Maclay for the duration of the year until they both graduate, at which point she can just leave the country. Or the continent. India sounds nice. She could move to India. She'll need a week or two to learn Hindi, of course, but she could probably manage that over break and-

Fred sighs.

"Dawn said she likes daises." 

"What?"

"Dawn Summers. She told me that Tara likes daisies."

"How did she-?" Willow trails off, because she's not entirely sure she wants the answer.

"She asked her. Walked over to the Hufflepuff table during dinner last night."

"Do they even know each other?"

Fred pauses for a moment before answering.

"No, I don't think so."

Willow is more determined than ever to find Dawn a hobby. Maybe Quidditch? Get rid of some of that energy and- no, Dawn's a first year... What about art? Willow heard that art can be a fantastic creative outlet for troubled youth and- 

Fred is rudely peeling her off the bed and forcing her to her feet. She shoves her out the door.

 

* * *

 

Willow manages to find a small pot of daisies growing in the Herbology classroom. 

She remembers Professor Sprout teaching them about daisies a couple years back.She recites the lesson internally in an effort to calm herself. The common daisy. Bellis perennis. The root is used in basic shrinking solutions. Essence of Daisyroot is made through distillation and is useful in-

She suddenly remembers what she's come for. She quickly plucks a few of the white and yellow blooms, conceals them in her robes and exits, trying her best to look inconspicuous. 

Willow's shaking. She's never broken the rules before. 

_Is this what love does?_ She wonders,  _Drive you to a life of crime?_

 

* * *

 

She paces nervously in front of the Transfiguration classroom for about twenty minutes. When she hears class being dismissed and the students gathering their things, her heart nearly stops.

The students that pass her by as they exit seem to notice her shaking hands and bunch of flowers. A few of the Slytherins seem to snicker under their breath, which is awful. Most of the Hufflepuffs throw her sympathetic looks, which far worse.

Tara Maclay finally appears before her. She's braided her hair. It looks nice. She smiles.

Willow panics. 

"Hey there Tara! What a surprise. I was, er, I was just out for a walk. So, do you, uh, come here often?"

"You, um, mean to class?"

Oh, dragon bogeys.

"Yeah, that."

Tara nods.

"Oh, me too. Do you maybe want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Willow blurts out quickly. She hastily thrusts the daisies out in front of her.

Tara takes the flowers. She smiles again, wider this time, and Willow thinks it's like sunshine.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to figure out this whole "writing" thing. Any suggestions or constructive criticism would be appreciated a great deal. I'd love to hear anything that might help, what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, etc.- right now I'm sort of 'faking it till I (hopefully) make it', which is absolutely terrifying.

The tearoom was somehow aggressively quaint.

It was frilly and pink and it made Willow's nose itch. It was crammed full of couples, many of whom seemed to have decided that oxygen wasn't a true necessity, in the strictest sense.  

Tara cleared her throat uncomfortably. Willow did the same. 

After that, it took Willow all of thirty-five seconds to realize that Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was not the ideal location for a first date.

It took Tara only twenty seconds more than that to mention offhandedly that she'd heard Tomes and Scrolls had received a new shipment of books on ancient Taglarian Mythic Rites.

It took them both seventeen seconds to leave a tip on the table and escape out the backdoor.

 

* * *

 

The bookshop was crammed full of musty old texts and ancient scrolls. It was, Willow decided, absolutely perfect. Not the traditional atmosphere for a first date, granted, but Willow found a wonderful book on ancient Egyptian healing spells, and Tara ended up making an absurdly good joke about insect reflection that had Willow in hysterics. 

Afterwards, they stopped inside Rosa Lee Teabag, which Willow deemed far more pleasant than Madam Puddifoot's. They also had excellent pie, and pie was very important to Willow.

The redhead made a mental note to return at earliest convenience. Preferably with Tara.

 

* * *

 

"T-this, this was fun." 

"Oh yes, yes it was. Fun, that is. Definitely of the fun. Fun-filled. Yes." Willow toyed nervously with the fringe on her scarf. "I had fun. Much fun. Fun was had. We should, uh, I mean, we should-"

"-Do this again s-sometime" Tara finished. Willow realized, suddenly, that she didn't mind being interrupted so much after all, at least when it was Tara.

"Yes. That. We should. Most certainly. Good." Tara smiled again. Willow really loved it when she did that. They ended up holding hands for the entirety of the walk back, unleashing a lively swarm of butterflies all aflutter in Willow's stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really have no excuse for this, and I'm sorry.  
> I never managed to get myself out of whatever funk in regards to my writing I'm going through, but since this is my third time re-writing this chapter I'm pretty much done with it (a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶I̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶)  
> Any advice/tips- including whatever mistakes you may catch you feel like sharing would be valuable. I feel kinda stuck I guess, and I'm still pretty new to this, so yeah.  
> Sorry, again.

Willow had never really enjoyed sports.

It wasn't just that she... didn't excel at them, she was simply blind to the appeal. Quidditch was no exception. The point system was irrational and Willow failed to understand what all the fuss was about.

In spite of this, when Tara asked her if she might be interested in catching a match together, Willow couldn't seem to think of anything she'd rather do.

 

* * *

 

The excitement of the crowd was a near tangible thing.

Despite the frigid temperature and cloud filled sky, students and professors alike had eagerly raced outside towards the stands, banners bearing cheesy slogans and enchanted flags carried under their arms. 

Willow was tapped on the shoulder. She spun around to find a beaming Tara Maclay, and all at once the sky seemed bluer.

 

* * *

 

They managed to make their way through the overzealous throng of spectators. They bought themselves a bag of self-popping popcorn and found a pair of seats. 

Willow caught sight of Fred, seated a few rows down, and waved. She was listening to an exuberant Dawn Summers, who was smiling broadly and gestating wildly. She could just barely make out her voice over the buzz of the crowd-

"...We're gonna win, I can just feel it! I just love Quidditch, don't you? I can't wait 'till next year...Buffy's been giving me lessons and I-"

Willow stifled a laugh and shook her head. She turned back to Tara, who offered her a handful of popcorn and an infectious grin.

She accepted them both, gratefully.

 

* * *

 

The match itself was fast paced, with Xin Rong scoring Ravenclaw three consecutive goals early on in the match, and Cordelia Chase scoring two soon afterwards for Gryffindor. Following this was a blur of rapid back and forth action, a near miss with a Bludger for Gryffindor keeper Charles Gunn, and one memorable instance in which Xander Harris nearly fell off his broomstick after commentator Anya Jenkins casually let slip that they were sleeping together.

The match finally came to a close when Buffy Summers beat Kendra Young to the Snitch by a hair's breadth. Ravenclaw students shook their heads in disappointment as cheers erupted from the stands full of Gryffindor spectators. Tara offered Willow her condolences in the form of a peck on the cheek. 

The latter then excused herself to assist Fred, who was attempting to pull a devastated Dawn Summers to her feet.

 


	6. Chapter 6

The two had taken to wandering the grounds together, in the weeks following the Quidditch match.

Every so often, whenever they had an hour or so to spare and Willow could be convinced to take a study break- despite N.E.W.Ts being 'less than five months away'- the girls would venture out, hand in hand- eyes bright and faces flushed, with cloaks drawn tight against the chill.

The aforementioned chill was nothing to sneeze at. In an effort to shield themselves from the biting cold, the girls donned jumpers, jackets and winter hats, pulled on gloves and looped their scarves round and round their necks.

Despite this, the outings never failed to be enjoyable- they'd both become fond of watching their breath cloud up in cold- dragon's breath, Tara had called it, and Willow had laughed.

Most usually, they would walk near the edge of the forbidden forest- never _too_ near though, as Willow had heard troubling tales regarding unusually large spiders living within the mysterious wood, and thought it best to keep a distance from the terrible beasts who, in her own opinion, possessed far too many legs for their own good.

Occasionally, the witches would abandon their typical route in favor of another, traveling somewhat aimlessly down the winding paths near the greenhouse, or else ambling along the western shore of the great lake- eyes peeled, hoping for a glimpse of the ever-elusive Giant Squid. 

 

* * *

 

One late Thursday afternoon, after a trip down to the Owlery in search of feathers for Miss Kitty, Willow had kissed Tara.

It was a surprise to the both of them.

Willow wasn't entirely sure what had come over her. They'd been talking about an upcoming Herbology exam, and making plans for a study session together in the library, nothing out of the ordinary. But then she had glanced up to have her eyes met by Tara's, and all of a sudden she'd felt very warm in the bottom of her stomach and her heart was pounding and she'd just sort of... kissed her, on the mouth, accidentally.

Quickly. Clumsily. Far from perfectly.

Willow was just processing what she'd done enough for a feeling of mortification to begin to settle within her when Tara tightly grasped both her hands.

Quickly. Clumsily. Perfectly.

The brunette was smiling broadly, flustered as she seemed.  

The giddy smile that grew on Willow's own face in response was so wide she feared her face might split in two.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, I know that a couple of people enjoyed this story, and to them I apologize for abandoning it for so long. I had some stuff going on, which has now been resolved, and...yeah.  
> The good news that even though I sort of dropped off the face of the Earth for a while there I managed to find my way back and have successfully set up shop planet side.  
> This story was tricky and surprisingly enjoyable to write. I like to think I learned a little.  
> Thanks.

Time zips by quick as a billywig's wings when you're in love.

All of a sudden N.E.W.Ts are just around the corner and Willow has absolutely no intention of failing them. Moreover, she refuses to allow those inside her general vicinity to fail either.

She takes the liberty of coming up with study schedules for Tara, Fred, and Dawn ( first year or not, there's no such thing as studying prematurely. That aside, the girl is brilliant and there isn't a reason on this earth she shouldn't apply herself a little more ), as well as herself. She has mornings, afternoons, and evenings flawlessly charted out- having worked around everyone's schedules and left a generous hour each day free for recreation- Willow is a giver.

"Okay," Tara begins softly, looking up from an old and mildly dusty herbology textbook, "Dittany, go."

"Oh, oh, I know this! It's that healing one isn't it?" Dawn offers from her perch near the window, far too loudly for the Hogwarts library. Fred hushes her gently and Dawn smiles sheepishly, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth.

"That's right!" Tara tells her, "Now elaborate: alternate names, anyone?"

"Burning brush." Fred never misses a beat.

"Applied topically raw it heals...?"

"Mostly just minor wounds, right? You know, shallow avulsions and minor lacerations - stuff like that. You need the essence for anything worse." Dawn chimes in again. 

Willow and Tara beam at one another like proud mothers. Dawn looks relieved.

The next time Dawn answers a question correctly, she does so clearly and without hesitation. Willow takes note of gleam of pride in her eyes and knows that Dawn Summers will be just fine. 

 

* * *

 

 They pass with flying colors, if there was ever any doubt. Willow likes to think that there wasn't.

Fred's scores are as flawless as one might expect, and her own are similarly immaculate. As for Tara's, it suffices to say that the future in healing she'd been dreaming about looks brighter than ever.

The future, it so happens, is an interesting concept. So much less in the abstract now, what with graduation. 

Fred finally got around to publishing her thesis on the metaphysics behind the magic, and the attention it's received sprung up seemingly overnight. Job offers are flying in, and writers from the daily prophet have been vying for interviews. Fred is going somewhere big and wide and uncertain- somewhere wonderful- very quickly and Willow wishes her all the happiness in the world. 

Dawn, for her part, still has many years at Hogwarts ahead. Fantastic years, if her marks on the first year exam are any indication. Similarly, if the flying lessons Willow witnessed meant a thing victory is on the horizon for Ravenclaw Quidditch.

Tara is guaranteed to land a top internship wherever she wishes- St. Mungo's being the most obvious choice. Willow herself believes she'd like it there in London. There'd be plenty of decent tea shops and old book stores for the two of them to frequent. Dozens of ancient libraries and museums to visit. A multitude of cobblestone streets, long forgotten by the muggles, for them to get lost in. They could find themselves a flat, maybe get Miss Kitty a friend... London could be nice.

Willow hasn't decided on anything- aside, of course, from Tara- yet though. Maybe she really would like to go to India and learn Hindi. Perhaps she'll accept that offer she received and go unearth magical artifacts in Mesopotamia. She could travel. She could write that book on the evolution of runic script she's been thinking about. For the first time her life is unplanned and off-kilter. Her world is huge and spinning.

With Tara's help, she keeps her balance. 

 

* * *

 

Goodbyes are difficult, to say the least. 

It is a blur of tears and laughter and well wishing. Long dead inside jokes are resurrected for one last hurrah. Hugs are given and hands are shook.

'Farewell' feels distant and faraway, barely real enough to say.

It occurs to Willow as she carries her suitcase of the train that an age is ending. It also occurs to her that she's been standing far too still for far too long in a _very_ crowded train station as she considers this, and that she really ought to get a move on. 

Willow isn't a seer. She never picked up the knack for Divination that people like Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane had, never saw anything but smoke inside the crystal ball or leaves at the bottom of a teacup. Well, once she thought she saw a turtle wearing a hat, but that was neither here nor there. What matters is that she doesn't see the future. 

Even so, standing amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowds at Platform 9 3/4, listening to the whistle of the train as it cleared the station, Willow believes she has a vision.

She's watching Tara hug Dawn goodbye, both girls happy and sad all at once, when she sees it _._

_They're still on the platform but Tara is older, with laugh-lines etched into her face and the odd grey hair cutting through the honey brown. Her robes are lime-green, probably come straight from work, then? Or perhaps on the way._

_Tara leans over, embracing a first year girl with long dark hair and almond shaped eyes. A little curly-haired boy who couldn't be more than five is holding onto her robes._

_Willow feels something deep in her chest and when the little boy looks up at her, she recognizes it as love._

Willow opens her eyes, unable to remember closing them, and the vision passes. Tara smiles at her, face smooth with youth and hair brunette all the way through. 

"Are you ready to get going, sweetie?" 

She is, and without a single doubt in her heart.

When Tara kisses her, it feels more than anything else like a beginning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it. This was mostly meant to tie things up- I'm not entirely sure how it came across. In case this made as little sense as I think and you want some form of closure:  
> Basically my head-cannon for them (which I realize as I type this is, in the context of the fic, just cannon -mind blown) is that they live happily ever after and adopt two kids. Tara is a healer, it seemed to suit her. Willow works as an archaeologist, or rune translator or something? I don't know. Wizards don't work in tech, but she likes learning and solving puzzles, so decoding ancient languages and uncovering the past seemed about right.  
> Regarding side characters: Fred is a professional genius. Dawn plays Quidditch. Anya is probably a brutally honest reporter for the Daily Prophet who covers either sports or economics.  
> It truly is tribute to my skill as an author that I felt the need to explain all this. Anyways.  
> That's all folks.  
> Edit: I'd like to take the time to thank everyone for their kind comments, which were all very considerate and helpful. Each and every one of them made my day. Thanks again!


End file.
